Leisure Activities for Children and Adolescents in Rural Areas as a Way to Counteract Social Exclusion and Pathologies.
Leisure Activities for Children and Adolescents
The project involved selecting 20 candidates from among the young inhabitants of Wysiedle, Zagórzyce, Rożnowo and Prusinowo in Łobez County, to take part in 20 hours of creative workshops called ‘I’ve Got an Idea’. Additionally, 30 children participated in art and photography workshops and 15 parents took a parenting training course.
The ‘I’ve Got an Idea’ workshop was run by Bogumiła Kuźmińska, an art teacher and therapist. The subject was ‘My Horse’. The participants were shown how to make sketches and learned the basics of perspective and the use of colours. They also drew with pastels on cardboard under the supervision of the instructor and made silk paintings.
Danuta Piotrowska, a well-known photographer and member of the Polish Photography Society, taught basic photography classes. Some of the children taking part held a camera for the first time in their lives. The biggest achievement of the workshop was getting the children to take photos on their own, discovering the secrets of their surroundings. The teacher and the volunteers from Bonin Foundation were quite impressed by the photos.
The parents took a course taught by Dorota Trynks, head of the Smart Child Academy in Szczecin, and Marzanna Kuszyńska, regional director of All of Poland Reads to Kids Foundation. The parenting training included classes about children’s emotional needs. The participants discussed about how to love children and how to express these feelings. They also talked about the role of reading in developing intelligence and creating an emotional bond with a child.
All the children had the opportunity to attend horse riding lessons at the Horse Training Centre in Bonin. Each participant learned the basics of horse grooming and preparing a horse for riding, and received basic riding training. The participants also met Aleksandra Lusina, Poland and Europe’s show jumping champion.
The meetings concluded with an excursion to Kołobrzeg for 64 participants, both children and parents. During the trip to the seaside, they visited a lighthouse and the Museum of Polish Arms, and went on a sea cruise.
The creative holiday ended with an exhibition of the participants’ photographs and silk paintings, combined with handing out awards and diplomas, and a bonfire night including a performance by a music band from the Mental Health Centre in Resko. The integration bonfire night was co-organised by the village head of Wysiedle and its inhabitants.
The artwork created during the workshops was presented during the following events:
Commune Harvest Festival in Łobez
County Harvest Festival in Dobra Nowogardzka
An exhibition at the Cultural Centre in Szczecin Dąbie
An exhibition at the Pomeranian Library in Szczecin during a presentation of Łobez County
Photo gallery:
